Arsene Wenger has admitted his long-time Arsenal skipper Patrick Vieira has the “potential” to replace him in the Gunners' hot-seat.

But the 68-year-old, who has another year left on his latest contract, insisted there will be “plenty of choice” when he does eventually step aside — and he suggested Vieira is not yet ready for the role.

Arsenal are 14 points off fourth place with just five games remaining in the top-flight season, so need to win the Europa League — they play the first leg of a semi-final at home to Atletico Madrid next Thursday — to avoid back-to-back seasons outside the Champions League.

Another campaign of underachievement has seen Vieira, currently manager of Major League Soccer's New York City after a spell in charge of Manchester City's reserves, linked with the Arsenal job.

Vieira has taken New York City into the MLS playoffs for the past two seasons and they currently lead its Eastern Conference (Image: EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Wenger, who has none of his former players in senior positions at the Emirates to form a line of succession, said of his 41-year-old fellow Frenchman: “He’s a guy who has the potential one day, yes.

“I’ve followed his managerial career. I think he does very well. But overall, after that, this Premier League is special.

“You have to come in. There are plenty of former players who played here, who have potential and the intelligence and the knowledge to do it. So there’s plenty of choice, don’t worry about that.”

Boss Wenger and captain Vieira after Arsenal's last title triumph 14 years ago (Image: Reuters)

After signing a new two-year deal last summer, Wenger insisted his “personal situation” is not his “worry at the moment”.

He added: “My worry is to transform a season with many disappointments away from home into success and that’s what matters to me.”

Arsenal have yet to win an away point this year, but on Sunday welcome West Ham to the Emirates before returning to European duty with Atletico's visit.

“I will not rest players – I would say this weekend is a preparation for Thursday,” he said.

“I rested some players after the Moscow game [for Sunday's loss at Newcastle, following the second leg of their quarter-final] and they will need a game.

“For us, the Europa League is the biggest priority now.”

Wenger gave a further heavy hint he will still be at the Emirates next season when he insisted there were no issues with the crowd, despite fans who have paid for tickets staying away in their droves from recent home matches.

“We are sold out in every single game, so I don’t know where the problem is at the moment,” he said.

How many of the Emirates' seats will be left empty against West Ham on Sunday? (Image: AMA/Getty)

“If you feel like next season it will not be the case, then we’ll have to face it. But if you look at our numbers and how much people want to renew tickets for next season, I don’t believe that we have a major problem.

“We have a major problem at the moment because we’re not in a position to win the league. That’s our biggest problem.”

Wenger admitted Arsenal miss midfielder Santi Cazorla, who last played in October 2016 and has undergone TEN different operations on Achilles and ankle problems since.

Asked if the Spain international will play again at the top level, he replied: “I hope yes, but I don’t know.”